Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-08-08
STORIES ABOUT RACERS.
Two Sketches of Interest About a Famous
Jockey and Famous Actor.

of his young rivals are coming to the
fore with wonderful work. 1t will prob
ably be long day before the Brooklyn
man leaves the track, unless some acct
dent should permanently disable him.
He might even now retire if he choose
end live well the rest of his days ard
still leave considerable property for his
children 10 divide between them. He is
unpoubtedly worth upward Of $50. 0O0,
safely tucked away, and his income Is
veriously stated a. from $4,000 tC
S25, 900 yearly.
His manners on the track arc 2 study.
At the stables there are plenty Of wiling
Youngsters anxious to DO all the WORK OF
caring for horses, ssddling them aad the
ike; they are ambitious for promotion
TO the saddle, and every one Of them
dreams st night Of winning races
astride famous runner. 2ugnlin,
however, IS always present when g
horse that he is to ride il taken from the
stall and made ready.
During the ssGdliGg process he usually
stands at the horses head, rubbing the
animals nose or pattiag his neck and
talking to him in soothing tones, much SIS
II ne were quoting frettiGg baby. When
the time comes for start be is one Of
the most careful men on the track. He
seldom figures for place Immediately st
the pole, but takes s position in the mid
die of the body CT the racers or even ct
the very outside. 50 f&T Gs can be OBJ
served he does rot attempt 20 de-
lay the start, but keeping his eye
on the starter aud gianc!ng from one
rival to another, makes his horse stand
nearly still in the track. But if the crow d
gets away and he sees that he csnEot
hope TO assume an advantageous position
among them, ne pulls his horse in with
out so much az trying to cross the line.
Then while the others are returning to
the starting point he pats his horses
neck, leans over and says encouraging
words to him, andif 1t should appear wise
still further to relieve him Of nervous
ness, he dismounts and finds some flaw
in the 6Ccoutrements which il takes him
several minutes 80 improve.
On the other hand, if he can set away
with the crowd aud assume q position
well TO the front, he speeds his horse and
does no. let up until he sees the fig
raised in front Of him. lie thus gets Il
flying start and a great advantage over
his rivals. lie never locks st the crowd
along the rsil or in the grand stand, or
makes any response to salutatons from
aCquaintanCes HIS behavior is 50 quiet
that il tends to make the rival Jockeys
forget hun, end by not appearing TO
figure for advantage ne is able frequently
10 get one that otherwise would have
been lost. He smiles almost INCREASINGLY
when the star. is being made, and when
the race is finished, whether ne wen OF
lost, he returns to the Judges stand,
saIutes aud dism0unts without sGy sign
of elaton OF disappointment.
Denman Thompson used to Gs.Ouisl
the audiences That gathered every night
during the whole OF last season TO sec
"The Old Homestead" by washing his
face and hands vigorously with real water.
Amateur actors and others who thought
they knew something about "makeup"
OCked on IL utter beTilderment when
the old farmer thus risked spreading the
grease paint al over his lace, Tjaktd
tram feTri3g rouge from checks g ears
wrinkles 10 the sop u his nose SEd crew
tracks &c the whites @! his eyes. Every
body knows how Thompson locks SIS josh
Wlitc9mb. His face snG hands have the
Scrawny, rudGY appearance that ilvarja-
bly, results from agriCu!tuIsI labor, ana
his hair is scant and partially gray.
Ia the first act of "Tng GA HouesUeadn
he taxes tin basin il his 1aud, talking
ell th3 while. goes TO hOgslcad set IN
der the caves OF the house, dips 1870 it,
fills the basin, rinses it Ia the rustic way
by shaking the water up in il and throw
ing 1t out, fills i. again ana then sets i
uQ0n ChOpping block. He rolls his
sleeves up TO his elbows, takes @ double
handful OF water, Tu5s it over his face,
spluttering and blowing and teTjecting
remarks meaQwht e 10 his city visitor,
and when the audience is looking 20 see
how the color on his face hiss been affect
ed by the process he takes rough towel
end scrubs violently until every Slisten-
ing drop Of water has been removed, eaS
10 the astOnished spectator his color
seams % have been heightened a1d i'm
proved by the operation.
! have heard more than one person
wonder what device Thompson employs
TO harden the paint on his face, and some
have suggested that he ought to patent it,
The secret of fast color in this instance
is natures. Thompson does rot make
up at gil Tor his famous role. In fact,
few people, having the common idea that
the man is generally totally different
from the part ne plays, imagine how real
istic ThompSon's work is. No one could
fail to recognize him of the stage. l
saw him the other day at Sheepshead
bay. A race had just been run and the
throng OF men was turning its steps TO
the betting pavilion, s few 10 cash win
ming tickets, most of them to reflect how
they might have had the winner "f'-
and TO try their luck again.
\ broad-sh0uldered man with s slight
s.ocp paused at the edge of the sward
and took three tickets from his pocket.
1t was the veritabe Gosh" OF the stage.
There was the rudy face, the scrawny
hands, the scant, struggling hair, the Gu
rious and interesting squint and crow
tracks about the eyes. Around his thick
neck was 8 p3per collar and at his throat
plain black tie held to the shirt button
by an elastic. His coat, which WAS loose
in its mistit, was blue, and his stout
trousers partly concealed just such
toots (not shoes as "Josh" pulls of
in the Judges psrIor with the
remark that "ther3's mighty good
luther in them. From his vest pocket
Thompson pulled a pair Of plair, black
framed EYEGLASSES and proceeded to i'll
spect his pool tickets. They were worth
less and he slowly tore them to pieces,
put his hands behind his back and plod-
ded over the ground toward the pool